Comin’ Up Empty

Nope. I have no idea what to write about. Oh sure, there are topics out there, but do I really want to tackle them?

Mitt Romney paying at a 15% income tax rate? Was anyone surprised by this, really? I’m sorry, but I think it’s been proven over and over again that the more money you have, the better you become at keeping other people, including the government, from taking any of it. If anything, I was stunned that it was that high–I mean, I think even Warren Buffett is paying less than that. And Gingrich coming out and claiming to pay 30% is pure bull flop. In a nation where GE can make billions in profit and still pay virtually nothing in corporate income taxes, anyone can juggle numbers enough to pay or not pay whatever you want.

What else is there today? The SOPA/PIPA blackout? Fine. It’s a horrible piece of legislation, and deserves to be struck down just on the grounds of being poorly written and overly vague. But while I’m glad to see some sort of outcry, I’m a little discouraged that Wikipedia shut down, Google covered their logo with a black box, and other sites either shut down for the day or offered up opinions in place of their normal content. I mean really, is the fact that Wikipedia or Boing Boing really going to turn the opinion of a Senator? For one thing, I’m reasonably certain those people almost never go on a computer on their own, let alone go to Wikipedia. And if they did, they’d also be checking their bank account balance to make sure the check from the Motion Picture Academy of America cleared. Let’s face reality on this one too, because the last two years in particular have proven beyond any reasonable doubt that our elected officials don’t give a rat’s ass about the people they’re supposedly serving. If they did, we’d have some momentum by now on other issues. But bucket loads of threats to not vote for them in their coming reelection campaigns are certain to turn some heads.

Other than that, illnesses are passing in Lathropworld, brutally cold weather is elbowing its way into the city–which always gives me reason for concern because the girls have a near complete absence of body fat; and for some reason, I suddenly got the itch today to start planning on some overall grand reconfiguration of the back yard. It’s gone mostly neglected for the past year, and I really want to get it under control and put my own touch to it. It didn’t help, though, that I found a $300 grill I’d like and a $200 fountain that would look great somewhere back there. Now to just make sure all of the elements fall into place together: ambition, drive, energy and finances. Ah, the sweet juggling act that is life.